English
The prologue states that in the year 1535, an alchemist in Vera Cruz developed a mechanism that could give eternal life. In 1937 an old building collapsed, and the alchemist, who now has marble white skin, is killed when his heart is pierced by the debris. Investigators never revealed what else was discovered in the building, but viewers are shown basins filled with blood from a corpse.
In the present, an old antique dealer, Jesús Gris, notices that the base of an archangel statue is hollow. He opens it and finds a 450-year-old mechanical device in the base. After winding the ornate, golden, scarab-shaped device, it suddenly unfurls spider-like legs that grip him tightly, and it inserts a needle into his skin which injects him with an unidentified solution.
The viewer later sees that a living insect is entombed within the device and is meshed with the internal clockwork. This insect produces the solution. However, Gris is unaware of this detail until later.
Eventually, he discovers that his health and vigor are returning in abundance, as is his youth. His skin loses its wrinkles, his hair thickens and his sexual appetite increases. He also develops a thirst for blood. This at first disgusts him, but he eventually succumbs to the temptation.
Meanwhile, a rich, dying businessman, Dieter de la Guardia, who has been amassing information about the device for many years, has been searching for the archangel statute with the cronos device. He has appropriated several archangels already. He sends his thuggish nephew, Angel, to purchase the arcangel at the antique shop.
During a cruise Gris sees blood on a men's room floor and decides to lick it. Angel then finds Gris and tries to beat him into giving up the device. When Gris faints, Angel places his body inside a car and pushes it off a cliff. Gris dies but later revives and escapes from an undertaker's establishment before he can be cremated. He later reads the program for his funeral and opens his mouth which had been sewn shut.
He returns to his home where his granddaughter, Aurora, lets him in. He works on a letter to his wife where he comments on the changes that his body has made and tells her that after completing some 'unfinished business' he will return to her. He notices that his skin burns in the presence of sunlight and sleeps in a box to avoid the sunlight.
Eventually, he and Aurora bring the device to Dieter's business headquarters, where the businessman offers him a "way out" in exchange for the device. Gris comments on his damaged skin and the businessman tells him to peel it off because he has new skin underneath, which is marble white like the dead alchemist. Jesús agrees to hand it over in exchange for knowing the "way out", whereupon Dieter stabs him. Before being able to strike the killing blow to the chest, Dieter is incapacitated by Aurora. The mortally wounded Dieter is found and killed by his nephew, Angel, who is tired of waiting for his inheritance. Angel confronts Jesús on the rooftop of the building and beats him severely. Jesús throws them both off the roof, killing Angel. Upon awakening, Jesús destroys the device and returns home, greatly weakened. In the final shot of the film, Jesús, now with marble white skin, lies dying in bed. Aurora and his wife are by his side.
Español
En 1535, un alquimista construye un extraordinario mecanismo encapsulado en un pequeño artefacto dorado en forma de escarabajo. El artefacto, diseñado para brindar vida eterna a su poseedor, sobrevive hasta 1997, cuando es descubierto por un anticuario
de apellido Gris. Mientras éste revisa el artefacto, de repente el
mismo exuda unas pequeñas "piernas de araña" que le agarran fuertemente
mientras una aguja le inyecta una solución no identificada en su piel.
El espectador ve más tarde que el insecto produce la solución. Sin
embargo, Gris no tiene conocimiento de estos detalles.El anticuario descubre que el artefacto extrae su sangre, pero a cambio su salud y vigor regresan en abundancia, como en su juventud. Su piel pierde las arrugas, su cabello crece y aumenta su apetito sexual. Pero a la vez también desarrolla una sed de sangre. Esto al principio le repugna, pero finalmente sucumbe a la tentación.
Un empresario rico y agonizante, Dieter De la Guardia, sabe de la existencia del dispositivo y se ha dedicado acumular información sobre el mismo durante muchos años. Cuando descubre que el aterfacto se encontraba oculto en una estatua que le había llegado a Gris, envía a su sobrino Angel a buscarlo. Esto aflige a Angel, ya que él odia a su tío y espera su muerte para poder apoderarse de la herencia. Sin embargo, el anticuario no está dispuesto a entregar el artefacto, ya que ha desarrollado una necesidad de usarlo, y además detecta que un hombre como De la Guardia lo utilizaría para el mal. Con el paso del tiempo Gris pone en peligro a su joven nieta, quien lo ayuda en su lucha para mantener consigo la invención de Cronos.
Français
Un antiquaire, grand-père d'une fillette orpheline, découvre par hasard un curieux scarabée en or dans le socle d'une statue d'ange en bois, qu'il est en train de nettoyer dans sa boutique. L'objet intrigue d'autant plus ce professionnel qu'il présente une petite molette. Curieux de comprendre la fonction de ce qui ne semble pas être qu'un gros bijou en forme de galet tenant parfaitement dans la paume de main, le vieil homme (dont le nom est "Jesús Gris") tourne avec précaution la molette qui n'ouvre pas le scarabée mais se révèle être un remontoir activant un mouvement d'horlogerie ... le compte à rebours vers une forme particulière de "dépendance" est enclenché. Le scarabée ne s'ouvre pas, ce n'est pas une boîte précieuse et décorative, mais c'est quand même une boîte de Pandore au mécanisme très sophistiqué.
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